wowwikifandomcom-20200223-history
Defias Brotherhood
thumb|A Defias Renegade The Defias Brotherhood is a group of assassins, thieves and pirates that dwell in the rural areas of the Kingdom of Stormwind - areas not easily protected by the Army. Origins The Alliance recaptured Stormwind after the Second War, finding the city in ruins. King Terenas ordered a massive reconstruction of the city with the assistance of the Alliance human nations and member races. Many of the exiles and refugees from the first war started to return to their old homeland. The construction was overseen by the House of Nobles, who accepted the help of many artisans and specialists from across the Eastern Kingdoms. The spirit of rebuilding, hope, and prosperity struck many who decided to volunteer for the great work. However, other less altruistic laborers considered the opportunity of rebuilding as a lucrative government contract; a chance to prove their craftsmanship and start anew. Eager to forge new lives, these craftsmen traveled to Stormwind, many bringing their families at great expense. When the rebuilding was completed, it came as a rude shock to the nobles that there were many craftsmen who were demanding payment for their labor. Engineers, laborers, stonewrights, and blacksmiths marched together to the new keep to request just payment for their services. The nobles were stunned - the bill was too high and the insult too severe. It was decided to expel the "greedy" laborers and artisans from the refounded kingdom. Alone, betrayed, and disillusioned with the Alliance, the group turned to Edwin VanCleef for leadership. VanCleef -- master engineer, former cat burglar -- then founded the "Defias Brotherhood". Ostensibly standing for freedom and justice, they built a base of operations in the Deadmines of Westfall. The Defias Today Having long forsaken those noble virtues on which their brotherhood was founded, the mysterious Defias faction is now composed of thieves, bandits, and vicious mercenaries. This vile group is determined to wreak havoc upon, and ultimately destroy, the House of Nobles in Stormwind City. Convinced that the nobles are corrupt and villainous, the Defias Brotherhood has waged an underground war in a quest to rid the land of their hated enemies. It is also known that groups of gnolls, kobolds and even goblins each help the Defias Brotherhood in their own particular ways. For example, goblins built Harvest Golems at the behest of the Defias Brotherhood to scare off the local inhabitants of Westfall, allowing the Defias to run their smuggling operations with greater impunity. The Harvest Golems have done that job well -- eliciting terror in anyone foolish enough to roam alone in the fallow fields of Westfall. Now, in Westfall, only The People's Militia stand in the way of Defias operations, which seemingly become more brazen by the day. The Defias have taken over parts of Elwynn Forest, Duskwood, Westfall, and have recently caused significant problems in the Stormwind Stockade. They are a dangerous group, with infiltrators in the highest circles of Stormwind Nobles and a sinister single-mindedness in the execution of their illegal trading. Wiley the Black in Lakeshire rumors that the Defias have even begun work on a "weapon of mass destruction"...a hypothetical weapon of unknown origins and power. However the existence or non-existence of such a weapon is not expected to effect any unilateral action that may be taken against the Defias by bands of adventurers. That weapon is probably a reference to the huge juggernaut battleship that is in construction in the Deadmines. After all, the entire Deadmines are a huge construction yard for the ship. It is also revealed in some lower mid-level quests, such as The Missing Diplomat, that the Defias have staged a worldwide plot related to the 10-year old king of Stormwind, Anduin Wrynn. Known members Notes It is known that the Defias wear facemasks, the material of which reveal a Defias member's rank within the Brotherhood to a certain degree. A popular item for Rogues is the Red Defias Mask, a mask that can drop off of any Defias mob in Westfall, Duskwood, The Deadmines, or The Stockades. It is a bind-on-pickup item and can only be worn by Rogues. Because it can be equipped by low level characters, before most other head-gear, many lower level Rogues actively seek this item for its look, despite the fact that it provides no armor or stats. Curiously, the highest drop-rate for the mask seems to be off of the grave robbers in Duskwood, the only mobs who drop the mask that are not masked themselves. Allies and Leadership Several clues exist in-game about other hostile factions in Azeroth that may be helping the Defias. The most obvious of these are of course the Riverpaw Gnolls of Westfall and the Kobolds of Elwynn Forest; according to the note sent by Wiley the Black to Gyran Stoutmantle, these groups are actively working for the Defias to help secure the mines they've captured. Speaking of Wiley the Black, it is interesting that he fears for retribution from the Defias for his information while holed up in Lakeshire. No Defias activity is visible in the game in Lakeshire or anywhere in the Redridge Mountains, although another aggressive faction is... the Blackrock orcs. Though a tie between the groups is never explicitly established, each certainly indirectly benefits from the other: while the Defias uprising demands the attention of Stormwind's defenders in the western half of the kingdom (Elwynn, Stormwind, Westfall and Duskwood), the Blackrock are able to bolster their forces and make dangerous advances in the eastern half (Redridge, Burning Steppes and Blackrock Spire). They effectively have the kingdom divided in half. While completing quests against the Bloodsail Buccaneers near Booty Bay, it is read a short message written by one pirate intended for his crew. The note references "our project in the Deadmines," suggesting that the Defias Pirates and Goblin Shipwrights responsible for building and crewing VanCleef's juggernaut ship might actually be Bloodsails who are cooperating in the endeavor for their own reasons. In addition, the Missing Diplomat quest chain alludes to the Defias possibly having some kind of partnership with the Strashaz Naga near Dustwallow Swamp. One of the Defias operatives interrogated during the quest has documents that mention "our new allies" being of help in the plot. These allies might quite possible be the Naga, since (until he was moved) the missing diplomat himself was guarded by Naga on Alcaz Island. As for the true leaders of the Defias, it is intriguing to note that the organization endures--and indeed, proceeds to some of its more dangerous plots--well after the death of VanCleef, who was supposed to be in charge. While it is possible some of his underlings might have merely stepped up to fill his role (such as Bazil Thedd), another possibility is that VanCleef was never totally in control even while alive, and that he was in fact being manipulated by a higher power. It is clear that the Defias, for all their hatred of the Stormwind House of Nobles, nonetheless have considerable ties to certain nobles (the operative example being Lord Gregor Lescovar). Perhaps someone with influence in the House of Nobles is directing the Defias... someone who already manipulates much of Stormwind on her own... Category:Organizations Category:Defias Brotherhood